Welcome! Blood, guts, trauma, surgery, and life saving intervention keep us on the adrenaline roller coaster of the ER. Of course, it's not always positive. The ER can be an emotionally taxing and sometimes heartbreaking workplace, and this blog serves as an outlet for the stress of making life and death decisions each and every day.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Disconnect

Last night we received a call from a frantic pet owner. Her 4 year old dachshund was no longer able to walk. The most likely all-to-common and devastating condition was intevertebral disc disease, and is notorious amongst the breed.

She arrived, and a physical exam confirmed my suspicions.

Tearfully, the client explained to me that her dog was "her child" and she'd do anything for him. I explained to her that her dog needed a hemilaminectomy, a detailed and complex surgery near the spinal cord to relieve the problem and allow her pet to (most likely) recovery completely. The surgery is typically only performed by surgical or neurological specialists, given the difficulty of operating near the spinal cord.

Without surgery, his prognosis to walk again was significantly worse, meaning he might end up paralyzed or need a cart in the future.

"What! The surgery costs WHAT? There's no WAY I'd spend more than $300 on this dog! It's just a dog!"

Just wow. I guess she doesn't understand that you practice actual medicine. No magic cures... Anyone who has a dachshund should know to plan for surgery, whether or not it comes to that.

I see this in sheltering sometimes when we are asked about adoption fees (pretty low ones). People roll their eyes and say "wow, it's just a cat". I am lucky that at least I know the cat isn't under their care.

All stories contained within this blog are inspired by my life as an emergency veterinarian. Details including but not limited to name, time of visit, species, and age are changed to protect the innocent and crazy alike. Any relationship to persons or animals, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This isn't web DVM....

These stories are shared to inspire and to entertain. They are not intended to be medical advice. If your pet is sick, the only rational thing to do is have him or her seen (in real life) by a veterinarian.

Who is that masked woman, anyway?

Ever since I was little, I always had the dream of becoming a veterinarian. The dream has been realized, and my passion is emergency medicine. ER work has many pitfalls and disadvantages, but for me, the ability to be there in a moment of crisis and help both a beloved pet and their loving family, is worth the bad days.

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Definitions and commonly seen conditions

Anemia: Low PCV (see below). Anemia can result from external hemorrhage, internal hemorrhage, destruction of blood cells in the body, or inability to make new blood cells in the bone marrow.

Azotemia: Elevation in the BUN (blood urea nitrogen) or creatinine. BUN and creatinine are body wastes typically eliminated by the kidneys; increased levels in the body indicate kidney dysfunction, obstruction of urine, or severe dehydration.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): Accumulation of fluid in the lungs due to failure of the heart. Some symptoms include shortness of breath, decreased appetite, rapid breathing rates, coughing, and weakness.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract disease (also called feline idiopathic cystitis): A condition resulting in frequent, painful urination, and in the most severe cases, obstruction of the urethra. FLUTD has several potential causes and is also an extreme emergency.

GDV: Gastric dilatation and volvulus. Occurs in large breed dogs; the stomach fills with gas and twists. An extreme emergency, this condition is treated with stabilization and immediate surgery.

PCV: Packed cell volume. The percentage of red blood cells contained within a given sample of whole blood. Normal for dogs and cats is typically 35%-45%.